Good Deeds
by Sesame Fiction
Summary: William's family was killed during the storm of chaos, and he lives alone on the outskirts of an Imperial town. His life is changed forever when he gets a strange visitor one day. This is a one shot story, and is the origin of my Warhammer Fantasy Army.


Good Deeds

* * *

It was winter, and it was cold. William was bundled up in his heaviest coat as he trudged through the snow and into the nearby woods. He lived alone, which was unusual for a man who had seen only 18 winters, and yet still remained unmarried. Right now he desperately needed firewood. Small wisps of breath jetted from his mouth as he went about deciding which tree to fell.

It didn't usually get this cold where he lived. In fact, it was so strange, that the people around the town where whispering about Chaos. William wasn't so sure that Chaos was responsible for the cold weather, but there was no doubting its power. It was why he lived alone.

Two years ago, William's father and two older brothers had left to follow Valten into battle against the hordes of Chaos. He had gotten letters from all three, for a time. Then one day, he received the letter informing him of his father's death. His mother had taken it hard, and gotten sick. She had lost her will to live, and so the fever had taken her life.

His brothers had been about to break the siege at Middenheim, when the letters had stopped coming. William had drawn the only conclusion that was possible. His brothers were dead, and he was alone.

Shaking his head to bring himself back to the present, William made his choice and began the process of cutting down the tree. After he had had it down, he set himself to work cutting it into firewood.

Stories had been coming into town with the tide of broken men and adventurers returning to their homes. As the men passed through, they told of scattered Chaos warbands roaming the Empire, and the twisted demons they had sent back to the Wastes. They told of the final stand off against the horde of the Von Carstein undead. William's thoughts roamed, as they often did, to the horrors he imagined his father and brothers had faced before they perished.

His firewood gathered, William returned to his house. It wasn't big by any means, but it wasn't small either. He lived on the outskirts of town, near the woods. He placed the firewood in the fireplace, and went to get some oil to start the fire. In a few moments, he had the blaze going and could finally take off his gloves.

He sat down in front of the fire and started sharpening the point on his axe. It was always better to have it done beforehand, that way next time he needed some firewood he wouldn't have to waste his time sharpening his axe in the cold.

A soft tap at the door alerted him to a visitor. This was the first time in months anyone had bothered to come to visit. Raising his eyebrows in surprise, he walked to the window. When he didn't see anyone outside, he did what any citizen who lived alone on the outskirts of the woods in the Empire would do. He readied his axe, and slowly opened the door.

The crimson color of the snow in front of his house was his first clue that there was danger. Deposited directly in front of his door was a woman, wearing what would have been a brilliant white gown, and flowing blue robes. Sadly the clothes were torn in places, and there was an arrow stuck in her side.

She raised her head and locked eyes with William. He was shocked. She was absolutely the most beautiful girl he had ever laid eyes upon. She had soft blonde hair and bright blue eyes, and couldn't have been much older than he was. She only muttered one word before he was her captive.

"Help."

After using her energy to speak, she passed out. William was quick on his feat and walked out the door to look around. There didn't seem to be anyone following her, so he picked her up and brought her in the house. Laying the girl down next to the fire, Williams appraised the damage.

She was hurt badly, but he thought she would pull through. She had been cut on the shoulder, and there was an arrow in her side. Both wounds were bleeding freely. William thought back to what his parents had taught him about first aid, and quickly grabbed a sheet off of his bead. Ripping it into pieces, he tied it tightly around the shoulder wound. He saw that luckily the arrow's head had gone through, and he broke the arrow shaft in half. He pulled the rest of the arrow through, and bandaged it up to stop the blood flow.

Racing back out the door, William traced the trail of blood with his eyes. It came from the woods. _She must have seen me chopping trees and thought I could help her,_ he thought. For once, he was happy it was almost constantly snowing. In a few minutes or so, the trail would be gone.

William nervously returned inside. He wanted to stay here with the girl until the trail had covered itself up. Unfortunately for her, William lived day to day, and so he was going to need to go out and check his traps for food, or they weren't going to have anything to eat. The next few minutes went by like hours as he constantly checked out the window for someone or something following the trail.

After what seemed to him like an eternity, the trail that the girl had left was covered up, and William felt like he could leave her for a few moments. He walked over to check and see that she was stable, and when he was satisfied, he left to get food.

* * *

Katrina blinked a few times as she returned to consciousness. Her vision, a blur at first, slowly sorted itself out to reveal the cabin she was laying in. _So he took me in,_ she thought. An aborted attempt to sit up told her that she was weak from blood loss. She moved her hands down to the arrow wound, and was glad to see it had been bandaged.

"I see you are awake," said the voice that she presumed belonged to the man she had requested help from. "My names William."

"Thirsty," she croaked out. In moments William had crossed the room with a cup of water. She sipped at it with content, and then when she felt she had regained her voice, she introduced herself. "My name is Katrina."

William nodded as he poured some soup from the fire into a bowl. He carried it over to her and handed her a spoon. "It's rabbit stew. I'm no cook, so I can't promise the taste, but it should be good for you to eat."

Katrina thanked the man as she started to sip at the stew. _Well he was right about the taste anyway,_ she thought to herself. She ate in silence for a few moments, and appraised her apparent savior. He was younger than she had first thought. If it weren't for his face, she wouldn't have been able to tell because of his stature, but he couldn't yet be twenty. However, what he said next impressed her.

"I won't ask you what happened yet, but I expect you to tell me if it poses a danger to me."

Katrina smiled at the wisdom in his words. _It wouldn't be good for him to know yet anyway. I would rather he not judge me by my actions, before he has judged me for who I am first._

After she finished eating she grabbed a bag off of her belt and handed it to him. It jingled with gold. "I need more sleep, but if you would please go to town and buy me a dress or two to wear. Nothing as fine as what I wear now. Just something so I can get these bloody clothes off."

William nodded and took the money. "What about a real doctor?" he asked.

She smiled a little. "I would rather you didn't spread word of me being here. That way would be better for all of us."

* * *

Three months passed quickly. Katrina recovered faster than William had thought possible, but he thought he knew why. She still had not spoken of where she had come from or what had happened to her, but when she thought he wasn't around or paying attention she chanted and touched the wounds. It wasn't too hard for William to figure out she was a wizard, or at least one in training.

William went about his normal activities during the days, and at night, the two would play chess and talk. Katrina usually won, but it was never easy, and William knew she had been well educated. From her manner she gave away that she was from a wealthy upbringing. William decided she must not have liked wherever it is her parents had forced her to go and so she had fled. The Empire frowned on letting its trained wizards just run off.

If that was all that had happened, William was sure that she would stay here. He even allowed himself to dream of perhaps one day making their pseudo relationship official. While they had never kissed or anything, William felt a strong attraction to her, and he thought she was attracted to him. He was sure it didn't hurt that he had saved her life.

Unfortunately, all these dreams of a comfortable future came crashing down on one of his rare trips into town. Katrina had requested another dress to wear; complaining that two was not going to be enough. When he was rounding the corner though, he saw two very rough men talking to the shop owner.

"… looking for a girl that showed up, probably injured," the first man said. William walked slowly down opposite side of the street, straining to listen in.

"No one new around here," the shopkeeper said, sweating.

_What is it about these guys that makes him so nervous?_ William wondered. His question was answered by the taller of the two men.

"It is a crime to lie to the Imperial Inquisition!" the man said. Williams's eyes went wide with shock. This wasn't good at all. What had Katrina done to attract the Witch Hunters? He knew they didn't care for rouge mages, but one missing apprentice caster was no reason to call out the Witch Hunters.

He picked up his pace to return to his cabin quickly. The last thing he heard was the shopkeeper telling them about the dresses that William had bought, and how he lived alone. William knew he didn't have much time. He started to run.

* * *

William came through the door with a crash. Katrina's head whipped around quickly, and she took in William's wild look of panic. She knew something was up. William grabbed his axe and looked at her.

"We haven't got much time. There are Witch Hunters in town looking for you. You need to tell me what is going on right now, or I am going to have to turn you in," William said, huffing from running all the way to the house.

Katrina was silent for a moment before she spoke, as if deciding whether or not to tell him. Finally, she started speaking. "My sister and I were picked up at a young age by Imperial scouts looking for candidates for the College of Mages. My mother had been raising us alone," Katrina pulled her hair back, exposing slightly pointed ears. "We are half Elven, and the winds of magic are strong with us." She stood up and continued explaining as she gathered her things.

"To make a long story short, my sister started dabbling in Necromancy a few years ago. I had already been assigned to serve in an army when she was discovered. She fled, and very recently I was handed a letter in her script while I was out on assignment. I had to see her again, so I kept it a secret and then tried to sneak away. They were apparently expecting that."

"So you left your army around here, and managed to get to my house," William said. Katrina nodded her head in affirmation. "Well this is just a big misunderstanding then. When the Witch Hunters get here, we can just explain that you aren't a Necromancer, and then you can look for your sister when they leave."

"That won't work! We have to leave now!" Katrina said desperately, walking towards William, who was blocking the door.

"Why not? You aren't a Necromancer are you?" William asked. He liked Katrina, and didn't think he could kill her, but he could hold her here long enough for the Witch Hunters to arrive.

"It doesn't matter if I am or not! They hate all magic, since it comes from Chaos. They will kill me to be sure, and you with me," she almost shouted. William noticed that she had dodged his question.

"Why would they kill me? I haven't done anything but save a dying girl," William said back.

"You've been around me, that is enough for them," Katrina said, calming down now into a cool sense of dread. They had been talking too long. There were three taps at the door and they both fell silent. William propped the axe up next to the door.

"Now, we will just explain what is going on, and everything will be fine, you will see," he said as he answered the door. Standing before him were the two Witch Hunters from town. The one if front was a tall, lanky man. He wore a tall hat and a long black coat. He smiled crookedly, revealing missing teeth.

"I am Inquisitor Karlton, and this is my assistant Todd. We are looking for a young woman around your age named Katrina. The townspeople said they thought you could assist us," the man said. He moved back his coat, revealing a long sword.

"She is here, but…" William started, but he was interrupted when the Inquisitor pushed his way into the room, drawing his sword. William was about to get angry and shout when Todd came through after him, a short knife drawn and pointed at Williams's neck.

"So Katrina, we have caught up with you at last," Karlton said slowly, pointing his sword at her. "You look terrible my dear, what happened to your nice dress?"

Katrina spat on him, eliciting a quick slash, cutting open her cheek.

"Now, now, my dear," Karlton said, "I don't want to have to ruin your pretty face before we burn you. Behave." He walked around behind her, and started to get out a rope.

"William is innocent, he doesn't know anything. He just nursed me to health," Katrina said.

"You know we will have to put him to the question to be certain. He won't survive it. Better to just kill him now and be merciful," Karlton said.

"You can't do that! We are both innocent!" William shouted. This wasn't working out like is should be. Todd quieted his complaints by moving his knife closer to William's neck. He would have given up hope at that point, if he hadn't caught the look in Katrina's eyes. Glancing to his right, William saw how close the axe was. Todd noticed the eye movement.

"Don't even think about it," Todd said menacingly. "If you resist, then we will have to kill you real slow."

"There is nothing innocent about this girl! We found her sisters books of necromancy in her rooms after she deserted. She will be burned as a heretic," Karlton said as he placed his sword back in his scabbard and started tying Katrina up. "Try any magic and the boy died here and now," he said softly in her ear. Her faint nod was the only warning William had. Saying a few quick arcane words, the area around her flashed brightly with light. Both Witch Hunters shouted in surprise, but William had been ready. When Todd slashed at him, he was no longer in the same place.

Grabbing the axe quickly, William brought it around with all his strength. Todd leaped back faster than William would have thought possible, but the other man stumbled into some shelves. Taking advantage of the moment it was going to take for the With Hunter to dislodge himself, William crossed the room in two quick strides. Bringing the axe up, William caught the sword stroke that had been intended for Katrina.

"Run!" William said. Katrina nodded and quickly ran for the door. Unfortunately, Todd had recovered and was waiting for her. He readied his knives and crouched into a fighting stance.

"I'm going to enjoy this!" he said. Katrina smiled.

"Not likely," she said, raising her arms. Flames jumped forward and consumed the man, who ran screaming from the room and into the snow. It was another scream that got her attention though. Whirling around she saw Karlton's sword lodged firmly in William's belly.

Karlton was laughing, "You shouldn't try to fight a professional son, you will only get hurt." William had a confused expression on his face.

Katrina's mind raced through the list of spells she knew, none of which were appropriate for the current situation. She could only think of one thing to do, and she had never practiced it, just read about it. Quickly walking up to Karlton before he could get his sword free of William's body, she grabbed his sword arm and started chanting.

At first there was no change at all, but slowly she began to sense the way the spell needed to go and altered the chant. She found that the books had been right about some things, but wrong on others. It took a little effort to get right, but when she did the results were astounding. Karlton's whole arm began to age rapidly. He screamed as he released the sword and fell back, kicking wildly and cradling his arm.

"You bitch! We knew you were a Necromancer!" he shouted, scooting back into the corner of the house, his sword arm aged and useless.

"Shut up!" she said, grabbing a nearby chair and smashing it over the Witch Hunter's head. He slumped down into unconsciousness.

"That was impressive," William grunted. Katrina wasted no time with chatter. She grabbed some clothes from nearby and threw them to William.

"Hold that on the wound. I don't know any healing spells powerful enough for that, so you are going to have to hold on until we can find help," she said. William nodded as she helped him to his feet. Flames from the spell that had felled Todd were now spreading rapidly around the cabin. They had no choice but to flee.

Once out the door, they noticed the smoking hole in the snow that Todd had fallen into in a wild effort to put out his flaming clothes. Katrina heard the younger Witch Hunter moan as they went by. As the pair entered the woods, she found herself hoping it was the last time they would see the two Witch Hunters. Her gut told her it was wishful thinking.

* * *

They traveled slowly through the woods until darkness fell. Finally, walking became too difficult for William, even with Katrina's help, and he fell down into the snow. Katrina was worried. She was shivering from the cold, but William was not. He lay quite still, and although she could still see the tiny wisps of breath escape his lips, she knew he didn't have much time.

"William you have to hold on! Please, I don't want to be responsible for your death," she pleaded, but he probably couldn't hear her. She had been on the battlefield enough to know when someone was delirious. She knew that Karlton would be awake by now and probably searching for them, so she didn't dare make a fire to warm him up.

"I never thought I would see the day you were worried over a man," a silky female voice said from behind her. Whirling around Katrina prepared to fight. She was shocked at the woman that stood before her. The hair color was different, but it was undoubtedly her sister.

"Maria! What are you doing here? What happened to your hair?" she blurted out. She didn't know what to think. It had been so long since she had seen her sister, and yet here she was, in the middle of the woods.

Her sister let out a cool laugh, "You like it? I changed it to make it harder for people to find me. You may want to do the same."

"Quit wasting time," a powerful male voice said. Katrina watched a handsome young man walk into the moonlight from the darkness behind her sister. "Is this the one you said had more potential than even yourself?" the man asked. Katrina could tell there was something more to this man. The winds of magic howled around him, and yet did not seem to touch him. If he was a powerful wizard, he was more powerful than any wizard she had ever met before.

"Yes, this is my sister, Katrina. Katrina, this is my teacher and friend, Leon," Maria said. "We have been looking for you ever since you missed our meeting."

Katrina nodded slightly. "The Witch Hunters were watching me. I was wounded badly when I tried to go meet you. This man saved my life," she said, pointing towards William. "How did you find me?"

"That is unimportant. He dies even as we speak," Leon said, crossing the distance to the man. "He took these wounds defending you?" the man asked.

"Yes," Katrina said in response. "The Witch Hunter stabbed him while he made time for me to escape. I know no healing spells powerful enough to help." After a moments pause, Katrina remembered that this man may be a powerful mage. "Could you heal him?" she asked. She knew her sister had no healing powers to speak of, she had been a straight combat mage.

"He is an honorable man, if brash. I could save his life. In exchange, you will serve me. I will teach you the powerful arts of necromancy. Do you accept?" the man asked. Katrina thought for a moment. The inquisition already thought she was a necromancer, and there was no way to convince them otherwise after using that spell she had read about in one of her sisters books. She owed William her life.

"Yes," she said.

Leon smiled, revealing exceptionally large canines. "Excellent, we will be a powerful force indeed." The moment before the man sank his teeth into William's neck; Katrina realized what he was. She realized what she had agreed to both for herself and for William. She hoped he would forgive her. If he didn't, they were going to have a long time to argue about it.

He sister walked over to her while Leon finished the ritual, and ran her hands through Katrina's hair, turning it from blonde to black. "Your friend there is getting a rare gift, and it won't be so bad as you think, sis. Leon is really quite a gentleman. Plus, we all get to live forever."

* * *

Authors Note: This is the origin story for my new Vampire Counts army. All the characters in it, save Valten of course (not that he was really in it), are my own creation. It is a one shot story, although I wouldn't discount the possibility of me revisiting the characters and write up a battle report of sorts from their perspective.

Who knows, I may go back now and do the sequel to my Naruto fic now. Anyway, I hope you all enjoy.

The current version of this story is the unedited version. My Wife will be editing it when she finds the time, and then I will update it.


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